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cozycactus's review against another edition
3.0
Vanishing Fleece takes readers on a journey from sheep to yarn. Four times with four different sets of machinery. The tone is lighthearted and feels like it'd be more at home in a fiction novel, so it ought to be an easy read, right? Wrong. The machinery was described in detail and all of those details get jumbled together until it's metaphorical felt.
The carding machine is made up of many, many cylinders, each coated with fine wire teeth rather like industrial-grade cat brushes. Each cylinder is a different size and rotates at a different speed in such a way that the fibers are constantly pulled from one cylinder to the next to the next. The wool enters as clumpy pillow fluff and emerges as a diaphanous sheet of fibers....
Had labelled pictures or diagrams been included, or if a more technical tone was used to explain the machinery, following the process would've been much simpler. I recommend searching for the pictures online while reading. That said, the state of the industry at the time of writing versus what it was in wool's hay day is poignant.
Business was so good, they bought their competitor and swelled to five hundred employees.... Then NAFTA was enacted..... Kraemer ultimately whittled staff down to forty.
If you're a yarn consumer, this is a moderately interesting read.
rosysoprano's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
A super fun read, especially as a knitter!
erine's review
4.0
An in-depth look at the wool industry in the United States. Parkes gets very technical about machinery and manufacturing, but remains surprisingly vague about the wool itself. Her own journey, from obtaining a giant bale of wool, through the entire processing process into yarn, is offered up in detail, complete with personal context and puns that make it an engaging read.
The discrepancy between when she actually went through this process and when I finally read it is about 10 years, which means that some of the conditions she describes are not all current. I would love to read an update on some of the places she visited, and the conditions she described.
The discrepancy between when she actually went through this process and when I finally read it is about 10 years, which means that some of the conditions she describes are not all current. I would love to read an update on some of the places she visited, and the conditions she described.
hellodovna's review
4.0
I...wow...so much yarn talk. A great book for all the Yarn-Heads and a decent book for everyone (me) else
sevenlefts's review
4.0
I think I'd best convey my feelings about this book by pointing you to Janelle's excellent review of it. She covers all the bases, and much more eloquently than I ever could. Suffice to say, I enjoyed every minute of it, too. I actually set aside knitting so I could focus on this. So there you have it.
Clara Parkes is a most excellent writer who can explain rather complicated concepts and machinery quite well. As a knitter, I was all in on her journey of exploring the history and current status of American wool manufacturing. I was most taken with her call to support this industry in the final chapter. Buy and wear wool, people!
A few format notes. The book wasn't illustrated, so I had to stop and look up pictures of what some of the equipment looked like from time to time. But it's a very well-made book printed on heavy paper and with green chapter running heads and page numbers, which were a nice touch. I found the magazine article-style pull quotes a bit distracting -- they weren't necessary and seemed to be there to take up space (this isn't a very long book).
Clara Parkes is a most excellent writer who can explain rather complicated concepts and machinery quite well. As a knitter, I was all in on her journey of exploring the history and current status of American wool manufacturing. I was most taken with her call to support this industry in the final chapter. Buy and wear wool, people!
A few format notes. The book wasn't illustrated, so I had to stop and look up pictures of what some of the equipment looked like from time to time. But it's a very well-made book printed on heavy paper and with green chapter running heads and page numbers, which were a nice touch. I found the magazine article-style pull quotes a bit distracting -- they weren't necessary and seemed to be there to take up space (this isn't a very long book).